Democratic Party Sues Trump Over Taxpayer-Funded Ad Campaign

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has filed a lawsuit against US President Donald Trump over television advertisements paid for with public funds and said to be aimed at promoting his political agenda. In a statement on Wednesday, Ken Martin, who heads the party's governing body, said the ads were designed to improve Republican chances in the November 3 midterm elections.

"Donald Trump is abusing millions of dollars of taxpayers' money to fund purely propagandistic ads in a last-ditch effort to save the Republican Party in November," Martin said.

On the same day, a second lawsuit concerning the same group of advertisements was filed by the democracy watchdog Common Cause. The organization argued the ads are "overtly political" and therefore violate the law banning the use of public funds for political propaganda.

"These advertisements are not public service announcements," Common Cause said in its complaint, citing the justification Trump offered for the television spots. "They are personal promotion and political propaganda from start to finish."

Both lawsuits allege that to carry out the advertising campaign, Trump directed the White House to redirect $20 million that Congress had allocated for commemorative activities related to border security, including memorials for those who died in the line of duty. According to the complaints, the move violates the separation of powers set out in the US Constitution.

"The Framers made clear more than 200 years ago that the executive branch may spend only as Congress directs," Common Cause's complaint states.

The two lawsuits also cite a provision Congress inserted into appropriations bills that bars the use of taxpayer money for "publicity or propaganda purposes." The parties are asking for the advertisements to be declared unlawful, for the spending to be halted and for measures to recover the money already spent on the ads.

The Democratic Party's lawsuit was filed in Washington, DC, while Common Cause's case will be heard in the Southern District of New York.

Trump is facing mounting criticism over the ads, which began airing in September. According to media tracking firm AdImpact, the campaign has so far cost more than $12 million. The $20 million Trump used for the ads is part of a $175 million package Congress allocated to the Department of Homeland Security under his immigration enforcement program.

Critics point out that one of the ads is nearly identical to a television spot Trump used in his 2024 re-election campaign. Three ads have aired. One features a choir singing "love me" over montage images of Trump as he declares the US will "never become a communist country." Another uses imagery of Mount Rushmore as Trump praises a "golden age of America." The third has a darker tone: Trump strides toward the camera in black-and-white footage, warning of a "final battle" against the "deep state" and those deemed enemies.

On Wednesday, Reuters and research firm Ipsos published a poll showing the ads are deeply unpopular. About 86% of Americans surveyed, including four in five Republicans, said Trump's use of public money for the ads was inappropriate.

Trump has defended the ads as "promotion for the country" and argued they are similar to public awareness campaigns by previous administrations. However, after backlash from both parties, Trump said on Monday he would begin paying for future ads himself instead of using public funds. He did not commit to reimbursing the money already spent on the existing ads.

Some Republicans in Trump's own party have also voiced opposition to the advertising campaign. Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, said the ads resemble material once put out by former Hungarian leader Viktor Orban. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, meanwhile, said he agreed with the message in one ad but stressed that "taxpayers' money shouldn't be used to pay for it."